Estimated reading time: 5 – 8 minutes
Hello, Angst Junkies! In my quest to find intelligent, psychological, dark angst fiction, I bring another review of the marvelous Remittance Girl. Her latest novella The Waiting Room is described as:
“…We are all animals, Sophie, all of us. We think we are so smart—masters of our destinies, yes? We lie to ourselves that we have control. But if it does not rain, we die of thirst. If it rains too much, we drown…”
Everyone needs to discover his or her own special place in the world, but Sophie has found it almost impossible. Late one night, in the tumbledown waiting room of a derelict Cambodian train station, she meets a stranger who offers to change her life.
Having seen how fleeting and cruel life can be, Alex has found his own way to deal with its uncertainty. With the help of Marcus, his mentor, he has come to believe it is only through artificially imposed order and physical discipline that one can find a semblance of serenity.
Alex is certain he knows how to cure Sophie of her existential angst. But lurking beneath his altruism, does he have his own agenda?
It is erotic. It is dark. It deals with Dominant/Submissive themes. All the stuff we love, right?
I find myself in a mental flurry because there is so much to say about The Waiting Room I am unsure where to begin. I want to approach this review as less of a personal experience and more of a review but it is very difficult Let’s see how I do.
The Waiting Room is 122 pages in PDF form and comes in at approximately 40,361 words. Remittance Girl (RG) uses language in a way I can only describe as sticky. The words remake a crumbling, crude backdrop into a poetic extension of the characters Sophie and Alex. (RG has written a companion piece in this posting for those interested.) The settings stick to you, exposing this grimy world with poetic simplicity. I have never been to Cambodia but I feel like I would know Battambang Central Station, the dingy room, and the dusty streets at first glance. The setting is a mirror of opposition. The uglier the backdrop, the more honest Sophie and Alex’s interactions. It is definitely a third character in this wrenching tale.
So what happens?
Sophie, a woman who practices surface-normality with discomfiting ease, meets Alex, a German tourist, in a broken-down train station. What begins as a daring masturbatory encounter in an empty room morphs into an introspective study of walls. Walls that people put up and walls that others are inspired to climb.
Sophie is the builder who continuously stacks brick after brick. Alex is the architect who can see her structure’s weakness.
The narrative flows between Sophie and Alex’s experiences and Alex’s recollection of those experiences to his mentor Marcus. We soon see Alex is not an accidental tourist of sorts who stumbles over Sophie. Chance happened, Fate stepped in, and Alex seized the moment.
Alex saw Sophie—the secrets, the numbness, the WHY as to what she is.
Alex wants to free Sophie. He uses his body and hers in ways that on the surface can be seen as kinky play but in reality is the language of true communication. Alex doesn’t allow Sophie to hide from him. He sees her anger for what it is. He sees her pleasure the same. Whether he enters her with fingers, mouth, or cock, Alex is always searching for the truth, for another brick to slide out.
Eventually, he offers her three days of giving herself over to him. Sophie, despite her misgivings, accepts. Thus the tale of self-love begins.
The D/S between Alex and Sophie is a beautiful dance to watch. The dance isn’t about hiding our flaws or searching for perfection. It’s about honesty and how truth is an ever-fluid thing. Alex believes he knows exactly where and how far to take her. He missteps. Sophie, trusts him even when she may not trust herself, and finds her faith tested. When she falls she hits the ground hard. If you enjoy reading about D/S then you’ll find yourself seduced.
Which brings me to the erotica. It is hot. Hot y’all!
RG proves herself to be the master of all things wonderfully dirty. She takes these sexual acts, ones we’ve either all read or experienced a million times, and makes it fresh. I felt trepidation as Sophie lay over his knee for the first time. When Alex finally slid into Sophie, I felt the long-ago thrill of welcoming a new lover again. Their last scene together…oh, my! I only wish I was taller so I could try it out myself. Hell, I might have to rig several pillows to get some height so I can do it. Wanna know what it was? Go read it! 
End thoughts? Alex wiggled into my mind. I came into The Waiting Room expecting a hot D/S story. I left it stripped. The story stirred up questions in me, ones that had been there for years. Just like Alex didn’t allow Sophie to turn away from her truths, I wasn’t allowed to turn away from mine. I strongly, strongly suggest anyone who is looking for erotica with depth to read The Waiting Room. It is worth the mind-fuck. Truly. Honestly.
You may buy The Waiting Room at Republica Press for $4.99 in Adobe PDF, MobiPocket, and ePUB formats.
You may also buy The Waiting Room at Amazon.
